Mar. 30, 2013
|

Billy Donovan's son Billy, a college basketball player who interned in Washington last summer, had another coach's son as a roommate last summer by total coincidence. / Matthew Emmons, USA TODAY Sports

by Nicole Auerbach, USA TODAY Sports

by Nicole Auerbach, USA TODAY Sports

WASHINGTON -- Of course, it was the third father who facilitated the connection originally, not either of the two involved in Sunday's Elite Eight matchup.

No, it was Chris Hyland who accidentally set up the unlikeliest of roommates -- the sons of Billy Donovan and John Beilein, who lived together last summer, seven months before their fathers would face off for a trip to the Final Four.

"What are the chances?" said Kathleen Beilein, John's wife, by phone Saturday morning. "It makes for a fun little story."

Last May, Hyland stood in a security line at Chicago O'Hare airport, chatting up a stranger next to him, Michigan coach John Beilein. Beilein and Hyland discussed Hyland's son, Ryan, who's an assistant at Division III Catholic University, and his coaching aspirations. Then, the conversation switched over to Beilein's son, Andy. A recent Michigan graduate, Andy had just accepted a summer internship in Washington and struggled to find housing.

The fathers exchanged contact information. Hyland thought it might be weird to trust a stranger in a security line, so he told Beilein, if he needed a reference, he could give Florida coach Billy Donovan a call.

Donovan's son, also named Billy, had just finished up his sophomore season at Catholic. He had plans to transfer to the University of Florida for the fall, but at the time, he was interning for Florida senator Marco Rubio. He lived with Ryan.

Andy took the third spot in the apartment without seeing it, agreeing to live with Ryan and a third roommate he didn't know.

"They had no idea," Ryan said.

Neither did the elder Donovan -- at least not for awhile.

"I saw John Beilein during July recruiting and he's like, 'Hey, our sons are living together,' " Donovan said. "I'm like, 'Really? And I go to my son and he says, 'Yeah, Coach Beilein!' I say, 'Well, it would be nice to at least tell me.' But what a really, really cool thing. ... It was kind of a really a unique thing. But my son loved John's son, and they had a great relationship there.

"Small world."

Andy and Billy met for the first time the weekend Andy moved in. Billy says he remembers an NBA playoff game being on TV.

"He walked in, and we sat down, and it was probably the quietest room on the planet, like a church," Andy said. "Both of us are kind of shy guys. We were sitting there, both knowing who each other was. We just sat there and watched an NBA game, not saying much."

During their two months together, the three roommates watched a lot of NBA playoff games and talked a lot of hoops. (OK, Ryan talked the most, being the "chatterbox" of the group, Andy said.) Billy moved back to Gainesville in August.

Two weeks ago, when the bracket was unveiled, Ryan circled the South region's Elite Eight matchup. His roommates and their famous fathers.